


i made these plans with you around.

by ryugazaki



Series: Only Love [8]
Category: Free!
Genre: Established Relationship, Fic Giveaway, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-01
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-12 10:36:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1185257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryugazaki/pseuds/ryugazaki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Haru can't - and doesn't want to - see a future without Rei.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	i made these plans with you around.

**Author's Note:**

> ben howard has such a beautiful voice. ಥ⌣ಥ 
> 
> song title comes from _Under The Same Sun_ by Ben Howard.
> 
> (the song has doesn't really have anything to do with the fic, i just really like it.)
> 
> this is for [butterfly-ryugazaki](http://butterfly-ryugazaki.tumblr.com) who was one of the winners of my fic giveaway!
> 
> their prompt: "fluffy reiharu."  
> my specialty: "fluffly reiharu."
> 
> oh man, i'm in my zone. i hope you enjoy it, sweetheart!

The bath water is warm, a little cooler than it was when they got in, and Rei's body heat surrounds him just as easily as the water while he leans backward, resting against the width of Rei's chest. Haru's eyes close almost instantly when he feels Rei's arms drift across his stomach to wrap around his hips.

"Tired, Haruka?" Rei murmurs, low against his ear, and Haru grunts softly, turning his head to bury his face into the column of Rei's throat, feeling more than hearing the low chuckle that tumbles out of Rei's mouth. Rei slicks back the hair from his forehead with one hand, placing a kiss to Haru's bare temple as he rakes his slender fingers through dark locks. Haru slumps into the embrace, the soothing feeling of Rei's nails scratching against his scalp making him kind of drowsy.

Rei yawns and he can hear it, feels the way he tries to stifle it, "Ah, I guess I am too. Do you suppose we should get to bed?" Rei questions, another kiss is placed against the back of his head before he settles back, drawing Haru up and closer to his chest. Haru peeps open one blue eye, enough to gaze at Rei for a split second before shaking his head and sinks further into the bathtub.

The water is too warm and too calming to get out now; they hadn't been able to take a proper bath together for a few weeks lately and it's not an opportunity that Haru's going to pass up, specifically when water _and_ Rei are involved. Recently, the swim team and schoolwork took up too much of their time, barely giving them enough for just _each other_ \-- especially with the swim club invading Haru's house chance every time they get, it was very hard to do anything with a hovering Makoto or a peeping Nagisa.

The weekends were always saviours. Today was more lounging than anything else, idle talking and some studying; they even took a walk down to the store to get some ingredients for dinner. Haru had cooked and Rei had _tried_ to help but he was more or less just pushed into the living room and told to sit until Haru needed him.

(The whole day felt something out of those low-budget films that Rin secretly likes to watch -- all about couples and hand-holding and living with each other, day in and day out. Haru wouldn't admit that he thought about the two of them living together, in a house of their own with pets or a bed for just them and a bigger tub to take baths in together. Nope, he hasn't thought of that _at all_.)

But, they somehow end up like this, with them in the tub, cramped together and folded in odd angles in order to fit. Haru doesn't mind though, he's fine sharing something like this with Rei -- he _prefers_ sharing things like this with Rei. He likes to be able to share one of this favourite things with someone he loves.

(He's starting to sound like one of those men in those dramas that Rin also secretly likes to watch. He's not sure where all these cheesy thoughts are coming from, stupid romantic things that he hasn't ever thought of before and all Haru knows is that he gets a fluttery feeling low in his gut whenever Rei's around or near.)

Even now, with Rei's presence behind him and the weight of his body against his, Haru really can't control the quiver in his stomach from the proximity.

Oh. 

_Wait_.

"Butterflies," Haru mutters, low under his breath.

Rei shifts behind him, pressing his cheek against the side of Haru's head and asks, "Did you... say something, Haru?"

Ah, he must be getting sleepy too, considering he hardly calls him Haru when he's fully awake and Haru can hear the dazed sound to his voice, low and soft.

Haru just sighs, though, and turns his head to look up at Rei. From his position, he can see Rei's full profile and the droopy violet eyes that threaten to close at any moment. He keeps blinking himself awake and Haru has to try and suppress his smile. Haru reaches up, presses a kiss to the underside of Rei's jaw and says, "You give me butterflies."

"Butterflies..." Rei mumbles, sleepy eyes closing as he leans against Haru. He takes his weight with no problem, twisting his body so he can wrap an arm around Rei's neck. "Butterflies... are beautiful." Haru kisses at his jawline again, nodding as he noses along the column of his throat. "Haru... Haru is beautiful too..."

Haru freezes at Rei's words, tensing when he tightens his arms around his midsection and breathes deeply against Haru's ear. Rei's always been more open when he's nearly asleep, always mumbling dumb things like that that make Haru's heart race a little more and a blush come over the high of his cheeks. He's actually happy that Rei's falling asleep now, as he buries his head into the crook of Rei's neck, because he rather not have him see how silly words affect Haru so much.

A little snore bubbles up out of Rei's mouth and Haru notices that the water's getting a little cold. 

"We should go to bed, hmm?" Haru asks, muffled against the skin of Rei's shoulder and Rei gives a little nod, shifting to bring Haru closer to his body. 

They don't move for another ten minutes.

* * *

They end up in Haru's room not long after, tugging on their pajamas and after Rei places his glasses on his face, Haru pulls him on to the bed so he can dry his still wet hair.

(Rei's wearing those purple butterfly pajamas that Haru thinks is cute but merely teases him about it every time he sees them, which ends in a flustered Rei and a satisfied Haru. Haru just goes with wearing a pair of shorts and a stolen t-shirt of Rei's from the last time he had stayed though, trying to ignore the amused smile that comes over Rei's face.)

Haru sits against the headboard of his bed, Rei situated in between his legs as he ruffles his hair, pulling the towel away a few times to run his hands through damp cobalt strands. Rei gives a tiny content hum by the third time he does it, squirming himself closer to Haru, tucking his head against his chest.

Rei becomes more like a cat when he's half asleep, seeking out affection and closeness. Haru doesn't mind, not as he tosses the towel somewhere in the corner of the room for him to pick up later and as he winds his arms around Rei's waist to pull him closer. He places his chin on the top of Rei's head, sighing softly through his nose. 

Their days always end up like this, wrapped up in each other in Haru's bed, not quite asleep but not quite awake. Haru won't admit it out loud but he likes this best, this familiarity and intimacy that intertwines with their friendship and relationship. He wants this for as long as he can get, even though he knows that he has to give it up soon. 

University looms in the distance for him, being his third year and the future taunts him -- _pick a career, go to college, move away from Iwatobi, start your life as an adult, responsibilities, responsibilities, responsibilities._ The anxiety and stress comes on to him too fast, at the weirdest times, and he knows that he's going to attend a university somewhere in a big city, moving away from what's well-known and what's home.

Also, he has to move away from the comfort that these kind of days bring, the comfort that Rei brings to him, the comfort of his friends and the swim club and Iwatobi. 

Haru glances down at Rei, sees the way his head is tipped back against Haru's chest and his eyes are closed behind red frames. Haru pushes his fringe back away from his face, tangling slender fingers through the stands of Rei's hair before planting a soft-barely there kiss against the skin of his forehead. It seems silly but he doesn't want to part from Rei, not now, not when he's something that makes Haru happy -- besides swimming and the rest of their friends of course, and mackerel. 

Haru looks at Rei again, this time his eyes are open and he's regarding him in confusion. There's a few moments of silences before Rei asks, more like _mumbles_ , "Are you okay?" Rei shuffles a bit away from him, curving his body for a better look at Haru.

Haru doesn't know if he is or not. He feels a little tired and warm, but there's this now tingling anxiety in the back of his mind. He raises his head to look at Rei, watches the way he adjusts his glasses in the embarrassed or nervous habit of his, and draws Rei back against his chest firmly.

"Do you think about the future?" Haru hums, lacing their fingers together and places them in Rei's lap. Rei looks down at them now, running his thumb against Haru's and Haru knows he's contemplating the question, can almost hear and see the gears turning in his head.

Rei nods though, peering at Haru from the corner of his eye. Haru nudges his head with his own, rubbing his cheek against Rei's. He closes his eyes as the two of them rest there, listens to the soft sound of Rei's breathing and feels the strokes of Rei's fingers against his own.

Haru swallows down the lump in his throat before he speaks again, "Do you think about our future?"

Rei pauses before frowning lightly, "Our future.. individually or... _together_?" Haru shoots him a look and Rei chuckles a bit. He clears his throat, directs his attention to their hands again before asking, "Have you?"

Haru hesitates for a moment, staring at Rei, staring at his face and the set line of his mouth, the detail of his glasses sliding a bit down his nose, "Yes."

Rei's head snaps up at the answer, eyes a little wide and face a little surprised, "You have?" Haru makes a nose of affirmation and almost smiles at the flush that sneaks across Rei's cheeks. 

"Um.. uh. What.. what have you thought about?" It's Haru's turn to blush, turning his face away from Rei's when he asks the question. 

"It's absurd."

Rei lets go of one of his hands to grasp his chin in order to draw Haru's attention back to him. There's a fond look on Rei's face, a too tender expression that makes Haru's blush even worse. "Tell me," he requests, hand slipping to cup at his neck and bumping their foreheads together.

Haru's mouth seems a little dry, looking into Rei's eyes now -- about to say things he's only thought about late at night when he's sleeping alone (well, among _other_ things) -- before breathing out faintly.

"We'd... we'd have a house," he starts, chewing on his bottom lip as he knits his eyebrows together. Rei watches him silently and he squirms a little under his gaze. He lifts his head away from Rei's, staring at the wall opposite of his bed. "One... with a bigger bathtub than this one, so we can fit into it." He hears a small snort for that, "We'd live in a smaller city like Iwatobi..." he pauses for a minute, "Or maybe live in Iwatobi, I'm not sure. We'd have a cat though, just one. Or a couple, or maybe three..." he trails off, wrinkling his nose.

"One cat," Rei supplies and Haru looks at him, eyebrows raised, before he shrugs his shoulders. "I don't think we could deal with more than one. I _couldn't_ , anyway." Rei scratches at his cheek, squinting his eyes hardly. 

There's a moment of quiet, where Haru stares at Rei and Rei stares back, face blank and head cocked to the side. Haru then grips at the back of Rei's neck, tips his head back and kisses him. 

When the two break apart, an inch between their lips, Haru mumbles against the skin of Rei's mouth, "I just want this," his voice cracks a little, twining his fingers into the hair at Rei's nape. "You... and to wake up to you in the morning... and to swim with you and to watch those weird American films you like... a-and just.. _everything_."

There's a stillness around them, a large silence that makes Haru feel a little uneasy, a little wary about what might happen next. He's never been very good about talking about his feelings or thoughts or anything that has crossed his mind. 

He jolts a little when he feels cool hands curl around his cheeks, forcing him to open his eyes when he didn't even know he had _closed_ them, focusing on full violet in front of him.

Rei's smiling at him, a full smile that Haru hasn't really seen on him before --

\-- (that's not true, he's seen that same smile when he gave his spot up in the relay, gave away something that he earned, he sees that smile on him when he looks at Haru like Haru means something more than he feels, like _Rei's_ the lucky one.)

It's not long before Rei _snickers_ , turning it into breathy laughter and Haru feels confused and a tad upset, offended that Rei would laugh at him.

"What's so funny?" Haru grumbles, without meaning to -- (his nerves are a little frazzled, a little sensitive even if he didn't give away _everything_ , that would be awkward) -- but he does glare at Rei though, it's soft and doesn't affect Rei all that much.

"I just..." Rei stops for a moment, crinkles his eyebrows before looking at Haru, with that _grin_ again, small and teetering on the edge of falling off but it's there and Haru's heart kind of maybe skips a beat, "I just didn't think you'd be... all for the domestic life? I didn't think you cared about this stuff." He mutters, almost in wonder and Haru turns his head away again, trying to stop the heat on his face.

"I care about you." He says, without thinking.

He hears Rei making some weird squawking-choking noise that he has a habit of doing when he's embarrassed and Haru doesn't have to look at him to know that he's adjusting his glasses and his whole face is red.

He does peek back at him, sees Rei hiding behind his fingers, ears pink and he's mumbling something under his breath. Haru leans forward, legs still tangled up with Rei's, and he begins to pry his fingers away from his face.

He sees that crease in Rei's forehead that he gets when he's studying or thinking intently. He smooths a few stray hairs away from his face as he looks at him, with Rei trying to avoid his eyes. 

Haru rests his head against Rei's shoulder, taking a deep breath before he begins to speak. "It's okay if you don't want it. I know I'm leaving soon.. we don't have.. y'know... be anything else." 

It pains him to say it but he doesn't want to cage Rei in a future that Haru created in his mind if he doesn't want it. 

(Oh, but Haru wants it, and he doesn't know why. He doesn't know how or when his life became concrete with this overconfident, serious, but dorky boy in it.)

Fingers thread their way through Haru's hair and an arm slips its way around his waist and he leans into the touch, leans into the kiss that Rei presses against his neck. 

"I want it." Rei whispers into his ear, "I know it won't be immediate..." The unspoken lingering thought of _university_ and _finishing high school_ is in there, "Ah, but I want it. Do you still?"

Haru nuzzles his nose against the curve of Rei's shoulder, nodding, "I want what Rei wants." 

_It doesn't have to be a house with cats or a large tub, it just has to be with you._

He doesn't say it, not with Rei pushing their mouths together so eagerly and Haru takes it, but he's sure Rei knows somehow, when they fall back into Haru's bed, twisted and tangled around each other.

Haru sighs lightly when they break apart, then tucks Rei into the form of his body and pulls him close.

Whatever the future is, he just needs Rei in it.

**Author's Note:**

> It's only lightly edited, I'm sorry if there's any big mistakes! 
> 
> If you have any suggestions or requests, hit me up on tumblr ([reirygazaki](http://reirygazaki.tumblr.com))!


End file.
